OMG! You forgot your wallet. Now what?

You left your wallet at home. The restaurant takes cash only. American Express is not accepted. Chances are one of these has happened, or will happen to you. What do you do? What do you do?

Hey, did you hear the one about the Italian tourist who was arrested and thrown in jail after he said he forgot his wallet and couldn’t pay the $208 tab he racked up at New York City’s Smith & Wollensky’s steakhouse? Well, since it happened back in January, this may be old news to some of you, but for those who may not have heard the story, it really happened to Graziano Graziussi, a 43-year-old lawyer from Naples, Italy, who, after explaining to restaurant management that he forgot his wallet and couldn’t pay his bill, found himself arrested and thrown into jail. As it turned out the, the tourist, who was arrested for “theft of services,” was found to have $118 in cash in his pocket and the case against him was dismissed the next day, so long as Graziussi promised to return to court the following week to settle up, which he did.

Of course, without being there, I can’t say if this was an extreme example of bad customer service, or what folks in the biz call a “dine-and-dash” event, but many of us can relate to that feeling of embarrassment when we find ourselves without purse, wallet, checkbook or cash when it’s time to pay the bill.

If you forget your wallet and you are with other people, the solution, though humiliating, is straightforward — ‘fess up and pool your resources. If you live closeby, you can always dash home to retrieve your wallet, while others are sipping coffee and enjoying dessert, or if you are alone, or far from home, offer to sign the check, with your address and contact numbers and a credible promise to repay your debt. In addition, can always call the restaurant the minute you can with your credit card information, bring cash the next day or mail them a check.

No, people don’t really wash dishes when they can’t pay and restaurants don’t call the police unless they’ve got good reason to, or you actually are demonstrating dine-and-dash kind of behavior, which can land you in jail. In addition, if you plan on hosting folks at a restaurant, call ahead to make sure they take credit cards and, if they don’t, bring lots of cash so you don’t run short. In fact, even if you are someone else’s guest, be sure to bring cash. It’s mortifying to have forgotten a wallet, even when it’s not yours.